Nanosilicon resource published by Klaus Sattler

There is great reliance now on electronic devices, such as computers, laptops or cellular phones. These are built with integrated circuits with small silicon-based units on the micrometer scale, which is a millionth of a meter. When materials are reduced to the nanometer scale, which is a billionth of a meter, new properties emerge that are critical in many areas of science and technology. Such nanomaterials hold importance worldwide and promise to provide many new opportunities for the future.

Klaus Sattler, a professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy, has published a two-volume Silicon Nanomaterials Sourcebook which shows that applications of nanosilicon are not restricted to the field of microelectronics.

An indispensable resource both in academics and research, the book describes new materials with exceptional properties as well as strong current and future application prospects. The chapters are written in tutorial style where basic equations and fundamentals are included. This will provide the reader with the tools necessary to understand current and future technology developments.

The scope of the book spans a wide range of possible use for nanosilicon in biomedical devices and methods, from antibacterial function to cancer therapy. Biosensing and bioimaging with nanosilicon structures may improve future diagnostic instruments. Nanosilicon for stem cell research and cancer therapy may help with the treatment of currently incurable diseases.

Sattler joined UH Mānoa in 1988, where he built a laboratory for nanophysics and his group produced the first carbon nanocones, with fascinating structural and physical properties.

More about nanosilicon Silicon is one of the most technologically important materials today owing to its omnipresent significance in microelectronics. Its nanoscale forms, such as nanocrystals, porous silicon, quantum wells and nanowires, have stimulated great interest among scientists because of their peculiar physical properties, such as light emission, field emission and quantum confinement effects. The progress made in the synthesis of silicon nanostructures in recent years has attracted considerable attention. Today, large quantities of silicon nanomaterials can be produced.

From photonics to robotics, many results have been obtained and new possibilities may emerge. Among the most promising directions are the development of high-sensitivity nanoscale photodectors for the realization of integrated nanophotonic systems, which could open opportunities in a number of other areas, including optical biosensor systems, optofluidic systems and optical interconnects. Nanosilicon materials are promising for the fabrication of single-electron transistors and memory devices.

Silicon-based nanoelectronics can make use of ballistic electrons in nanoscale structures. Quantum and single-electron charging effects are bringing new functionalities into transistors. Silicon quantum dot field effect transistors can reduce the number of transistors per circuit function and open up opportunities for innovative architectures. Recent advances in silicon nanoscience may enable the landscape of modern computing to change fundamentally in the future.